The Metamorphosis
by tradition
Summary: Sequel to "The Start of Something New". In the wake of Sasuke's defection, Sakura and Shino are thrown together more often than not.
1. Part I

"Sakura."

At the sound of his voice, she startled, but did not turn. She sniffled angrily and dug the heels of her hands against her traitorously teary eyes.

"Shino-kun. I didn't expect to see you here." He sat down on the ground beside her. Sakura had retreated to her old team's training ground when she had heard that Sasuke had evaded being retrieved, nearly managing to kill several of their peers in the process.

"I just returned from a mission with my father. I heard about Uchiha."

"Yeah." She felt the tears start to well up again. "It's such a mess. I can't believe he would do something like this!"

Shino didn't respond, but his silence registered his opinion easily enough. He hesitantly held out a hand to take hers and she let him, relishing the solid lifeline of his presence. Everything that had happened since the Chunin Exams was jumbled up into a giant ball of confusion in her head and her heart.

" _What are you doing, wandering around here at night?"_

" _I could ask you the same thing." She knew he would be here, knew he would leave. She just didn't want to believe her own feelings._

" _Go home."_

" _Why won't you talk to us? Why are you always silent?"_

" _Stop concerning yourself with what I do. It's none of your business." His answers were flat, with no inflection._

" _We're your team, Sasuke! We can help you. Did all our time together mean nothing?" She was mad at him, mad that he could throw away everything that Team 7 could achieve together. "I know about your clan, but revenge … it won't help anyone."_

 _Sasuke was silent for a long moment. "I'm different from you. I tried to the missions, the team, I thought it was my path. In the end, my heart is set on revenge. That is my path now."_

" _So you've decided to be alone, again?"_

 _His shoulders tensed. "I can't be like you or Naruto." He walked forward._

" _Wait! If you leave, I'll … I'll scream!" She had no other recourse, even with her extra training there was no way she was able to take on Sasuke seriously._

 _He shunshined behind her and she whirled around. His eyes were curiously bright. "Sakura. Thank you."_

Sakura buried her head in her hands, forgetting that she was still holding Shino's. He shifted closer, pulled by her action.

"We were never going to be enough for him, Shino-kun. I thought …" She took a deep breath, trying to stop her voice from quivering. "I thought that maybe now that I stopped hounding him for a date and he and Naruto were getting along better that we could be a real team. We had fun together, sometimes, the three of us."

"His need for power is selfish and overwhelming, Sakura. Don't place blame on yourself."

She gave him a watery smile. "I have a lot of blame to hand out. He gets his fair portion, don't worry."

They sat quietly for a moment, Shino holding back a wince every time she clenched her hand around his. "How is Naruto?"

To her horror, Sakura felt a fresh wave of tears threaten behind her eyes. "Sasuke nearly killed him, Shino-kun. It's only thanks to the Godaime that he and Choji are alive. The whole retrieval team failed to contain their opponents." She looked at him. "How could he cause such misery when he knows how it feels?"

Shino lifted a shoulder gracefully, at a loss to comfort her with anything but cold logic, so he tried that. "He is emotionally compromised at a basic level, Sakura. I don't think he is particularly empathetic to anyone."

Sakura sagged, hating the truth of his words. "I know you're right, but it hurts to hear. To know that we just didn't matter, not when it counted."

"I'm sorry I was not here for the mission."

She squeezed his hand lightly. "In a way, I'm glad you weren't. I would be even worse off if Sasuke had hurt you too."

"But if I had been there, the mission would have been a success."

That surprised a laugh out her, rough as it was on her throat after hours of crying and yelling at the sky. "I can always count on you to say the right thing, Shino-kun." He was pleased, though he did not quite understand why she laughed at his serious intent.

Sakura let go of his hand to stand and stretch, muscles tight from the tension she had held onto throughout the day. She smiled at him as he stood as well and said, "Do you want to fight? I need to hit something."

Shino was surprised at her offer, but not inclined to turn it down. "I would not say no to a spar. Are you sure you are up for it?"

She wiped her eyes one last time and then scoffed at him, coming to stand in a familiar taijutsu pose. "Crying and fighting, that's kind of what I do, Shino-kun."

He nodded and shifted his stance. "Ah, that is more true now. Before it was mostly crying and attempting to fight."

She tossed a punch at him that he blocked with a forearm, though it stung even more than usual. His kikaichu buzzed unhappily within. "Always have to bring that up, huh? We all have to start somewhere, you know." His responding kick barely glanced off her side and she flipped to recover. "Not all of us are naturally talented like the great Aburame Shino."

He took a painful blow to the shoulder so that he could get closer and sweep her legs out from under her. "It's called practice." She fell to the ground and rolled backward, one hand punching the ground in anger.

"One day I'm going to get you good, Shino-kun."

"I look forward to it." He was being entirely honest. After correcting her taijutsu form with more practice that she had nagged out of her sensei and the constant sparring she did with him, Sakura was improving in leaps and bounds.

She straightened and sighed. "I don't even know if I have a team left to work on getting better _with_." She rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck painfully. "I heard that Jiraiya-san was going to take Naruto away for training. I doubt I could get Kakashi-sensei to focus on me now that his favorite student is gone."

"We have a very formidable kunoichi in our village right now who is excellent at taijutsu, you know."

"What?"

Shino nodded. "The Godaime. She is exceptionally powerful. Why not ask for her help?"

Sakura laughed, sounding only a little hysterical. "You want me to march up to the brand new Hokage and just request that she spend some of her precious free time training _me_? I have nothing to offer in that exchange."

"Maybe she could recommend a new teacher for you even if she does reject the idea."

She looked thoughtful. "I heard that her chakra control is impeccable and I know mine is pretty good. Maybe she'll take me on as a medical student and I could learn taijutsu elsewhere."

"Regardless of her answer, you still have me."

Sakura moved close to poke at his flushed cheek. "Cute. You're a good friend, Shino-kun. Thank you." She looked at the fading sun and yawned, exhausted from her emotional day and their short spar. "Do you want to come with me to the hospital? I should visit Naruto and the others again."

He nodded and she grabbed his hand again, lacing their fingers together. He stood stiffly, unsure of what to do with his arm now that she was attached to it. She just smiled at his impassive face and pulled him forward, saying , "Let's go."

* * *

 **Note** : Dialogue between Sakura and Sasuke is slightly modified from the original in the anime. It wouldn't do to have her confess love when I had already established her dying crush in the previous story! Still, she's upset that he left, but no man will keep Haruno Sakura down.


	2. Part II

Sakura knocked on Tsunade's office door, trying to convey her false sense of confidence through it.

"Come in."

She quickly let herself in and came to a stop a few feet before the desk. "Hokage-sama, I have a favor to ask you." Immediately, she cringed at her own wording. _A favor, really?_

"What is it?" Tsunade hadn't even looked up from her paperwork.

The words rushed out at once, heedless of the careful recitation she had practiced on the way in. "Please make me your apprentice!"

The Hokage paused and then put down her brush, staring intently at Sakura. She forced herself to meet the woman's formidable gaze, not backing down. This was important, the _most_ important thing she had ever done in her short life.

"Haruno Sakura. Kakashi tells me you have intelligence and courage." Sakura didn't blink, though she was thrown by the words. _Since when has Kakashi-sensei noticed any of those things about me?_ "Very well. In return, know that I will be strict."

Sakura felt a swell of relief and panic and exhilaration all at once, but stood straight at attention. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Don't be so formal. We will start now." Tsunade motioned her to the piles of scrolls, books and paper on her desk. "How much do you know about Iwagakure?"

She was startled at the abrupt change in subject, which had absolutely nothing to do with medicine. "Uh, as much as the next Konoha kunoichi does, I guess."

"Good enough." Tsunade pushed the scroll she had been working on toward her. "Finish drafting that letter to the Tsuchikage, fill it with ceremonial nonsense." Sakura was frozen for a moment before Tsunade shoved a brush into her hand with a raised eyebrow. "If you are my apprentice, you are my apprentice in _all_ things. As I am currently the Hokage, you'll be forced to learn and work alongside me."

"Yes, Tsunade-shishou." _Guess I should keep up my training with Shino-kun, just in case. I won't get any better at taijutsu doing paperwork._

Sakura stumbled out of the Hokage tower hours later, exhausted and slightly bewildered. She had marched in there filled with determination, but braced for rejection. She had not been expecting mountains of political maneuvering nor being given a sealed scroll that contained more medical journals than she knew existed as "background reading".

She wondered if Shino was doing anything for dinner. She was starving and her parents were away on a mission again, so she knew no one was cooking tonight. Lost in thought, she nearly ran down Hinata, who was walking the opposite direction with Kiba and Akamaru.

"Oh, wow, I'm sorry!" She grasped the girl by her upper arms to steady her. "I wasn't paying attention."

"It's o-okay, Sakura. No harm done." Hinata smiled at her hesitantly.

"Hey, since I ran into you guys, nearly literally, do you know where Shino-kun is?" Their eyes widened at her request, though Hinata was less obvious about it.

Kiba scratched the side of his face thoughtfully. "What do you want with Shino?"

"I was wondering if he wanted to get dinner with me, like we usually do." Sakura was pondering the pros and cons of barbecue versus sushi when she realized that they still hadn't answered her.

Kiba was fairly gaping at her in surprise, an unattractive habit he shared with Naruto. _I would have felt right at home on Team 8._ Hinata was, to Sakura's amazement, giggling lightly behind one hand.

The boy had recovered from his apparent shock and asked wonderingly, "You and Shino have dinner together?"

Sakura shrugged. "Or lunch, depending on the day. I am usually too tired after sparring with him to cook, so it's easier to go out."

"You _spar_ with Shino?" Now he was clutching Akamaru's fur and Hinata was full-blown laughing at him, still trying to hide it behind her hands.

"Yes? He's been a big help with my taijutsu, which frankly, was terrible."

"It still is."

She spun around. "Shino-kun! That's not nice. Just yesterday you told me I was better than before."

She could see the smallest smile pull at the corners of his mouth. "Since your "before" was awful, that is not actually a compliment." Sakura poked him in the arm, annoyed. "But you have improved quite a bit."

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "That's all I was asking. Was it so hard for you to say?"

The smile was still there. "It might have hurt me a little."

"You're a brat."

"What is this, Shino? You've just used more words than I think I've ever heard you say in a whole week!" Kiba was pointing at them dramatically and Akamaru just eyed him mournfully, still unhappy with his fur clutching.

"That is an exaggeration, Kiba. I speak as much as necessary."

"Kiba-kun, calm down. Shino-kun is allowed to have friends, you know." Hinata smiled at Sakura again, this time not as hesitantly. "We were actually going to meet up for dinner with Kurenai-sensei. W-would you like to join us, Sakura?"

She took a step back, feeling awkward and a little sad. _Ah, team things. That's not something I get to have anymore. "_ I wouldn't want to intrude …"

"It's not an intrusion if you're invited, Sakura."

"Well, if you're sure." She gestured with a flourish to hide her own trepidation. "Lead on, oh magnificent team eight."

Kiba snorted at her and walked toward the restaurant district, Hinata followed him with a soft glance toward her. Sakura figured the other girl might have an idea of how she felt; Hinata had always been very tender-hearted for a kunoichi.

She fell into step beside Shino and they walked in comfortable silence together, listening to Kiba chatter to the group at large with Akamaru's barks punctuating his words. They stopped in front of a very cozy-looking café, where Sakura could see Kurenai waiting for them through the friendly picture window in the front.

"Hi kids." Kurenai looked around Shino, where she was trying to hide. "And Sakura-chan?"

She smiled sheepishly at Kurenai, not sitting down. "Hello, Kurenai-sensei. I was looking for Shino-kun and it turns out he already had plans, but Hinata invited me …?"

The woman just gave her a warm smile. "Of course, sit down. The more the merrier."

She slid into the booth next to Shino gingerly. "Thanks. I didn't feel like cooking after the day I've had and eating alone is no fun."

"That would explain your habit of coercing me to Yakiniku so often."

Sakura looked at Shino with betrayal. "Coercing! Shino-kun, I am _excellent_ dinner company."

"Hmm." He didn't say anything more, but she could see he was smiling again. Putting her nose up in the air, she turned her face away to the rest of the group and asked Kurenai about their missions, letting the conversation flow over her as Hinata and Kiba filled in their own opinions on Team 8's last C-Rank, a three day escort to Otafuki Gai.

According to Kiba it was " _so_ boring!" and to Hinata it was "very educational". Sakura could assume that the other girl's impeccable etiquette training was coming into effect and that Kiba's pronouncement was probably closer to the truth.

"And you, Sakura? You said you had quite a day. What happened?" Kurenai asked and Sakura was warmed by her sincerity. It was just so _nice_ to have someone else care about her day. Shino had been a rare exception, though it seemed as if his team was just as welcoming, in their own way.

"Oh! Well, Shino-kun is certainly to blame for this, a tiny bit." He shifted next to her, surprised. She grinned. "Tsuande-shishou has agreed to take me on as her apprentice!"

She accepted their amazed congratulations with happy pride. Shino simply said, "I told you it was worth asking."

Sakura pouted. "You were right as usual, oh great Shino-sama." Hinata and Kiba laughed and Kurenai's eyes were bright with amusement. "But your crystal ball didn't foresee the fact that I would be stuck doing half her paperwork!"

"The Hokage's paperwork, really? She must already have a high opinion of you, Sakura." Hinata's quiet voice was impressively relaxed, for once.

She shrugged, a little embarrassed. "I didn't get to see anything important or classified. I'm going to be taking up a lot of her time until I can be actually useful, so it was probably for the best that I help out." Shino's arm bumped against hers for a moment and she smiled knowingly. He knew how important the idea of usefulness was to her.

They moved on to speak of other things, Kurenai tactfully maneuvering the conversation around the topic of Sakura's team and for that she was grateful. She knew that Hinata harbored an enormous crush on Naruto and was probably interested in news about him and his recovery, but she wasn't quite sure if she could speak of them for long without bursting into tears again. _Crying and fighting, my specialties now._

They paid for their meal and went their separate ways, with Sakura thanking Kurenai again for allowing her to join them. The woman hesitated and then drew her in for a quick hug. "I know it's probably hard for you now, Sakura-chan, with … everything that's happened. But you still have friends here."

Sakura gave her a teary smile. "Thanks, Kurenai-sensei. That means a lot." They parted and waved goodbye. Sakura was surprised to see Shino standing silently behind her, waiting. _He's always around for my sad sack routines._

"What's wrong, Shino-kun?"

He was shifted from foot to foot, an unusual sign of uncertainty in a boy she had only ever known confidence from. "Are you okay?"

She sighed. "I'll _be_ okay. Eventually." She smiled at him. "Thanks to you, I'm now the Hokage's apprentice. That will help."

"I did nothing but suggest it, Sakura."

"What can I say? You're an inspiration, Shino-kun."

* * *

 **Note** : as i was writing this chapter, i realized that every story i have includes the characters sharing meals. apparently to me, being a ninja is just fighting and eating.


	3. Part III

Days turned into weeks turned into months and Sakura was busier than she had ever been in her life - and happier, too. Working with Tsunade was a challenge that changed every day. From healing a fish with the mystical palm jutsu to learning the intricacies of trade regulations with Suna, Sakura had never crammed so much knowledge into her head at once.

When Tsunade wasn't available, she always made sure that Shizune was there in her stead or that Sakura used the time to study her medical journals. It was the attention that she had yearned for while in Team 7 and she flourished under the Hokage's careful gaze.

Today, however, she was distracted.

"Sakura? Sakura!" She started and looked up from her scroll to squint at Tsunade and Shizune, who both looked at her with a worried eyes. "Are you okay?"

"What? Yes, I'm sorry. Just lost in thought."

Tsunade's voice was bone dry. "I hadn't realized Konoha's history of grain distribution was so enthralling. Maybe I should read it again myself."

Sakura made a face at her. "Not about that, shishou. It's Shino-kun's birthday soon."

Tsunade pulled a bottle of sake out of her desk drawer, to Shizune's disapproval. "Ah, boy troubles!" She poured herself a bowl and leaned forward. "Tell me all about it."

She huffed, rolling up the scroll she hadn't been concentrating on anyway. "Shino-kun is no trouble. I just have no idea what to get him."

"He's an Aburame, isn't he? Tight-lipped bunch, that is. I never got to know any back when I was still active duty."

Sakura shrugged. "Shino-kun talks to me just fine. I haven't really met any other people in his clan. He said there aren't many who are our age."

Shizune nodded while trying to discretely steal the sake off the desk. "With their techniques, I can't imagine they have a very high match or birth rate."

Sakura was stuffing the scroll back into her bag. "Why? How does it work?"

Tsunade neatly moved her sake away from Shizune's questing hands and poured herself another bowl. "They implant the colony almost immediately after birth, though the how-to technique is secret. Most mothers aren't exactly excited by the prospect, even if they _do_ marry a man who has kikaichu. The Aburame don't have a lot of daughters either."

Sakkura looked thoughtful. "Shino-kun never mentioned any of this."

Tsunade snorted. "Birth rates and clan marriages aren't something normal thirteen year old boys talk about."

Sakura considered helping Shizune with her sake removal quest, but decided to stay put. Better to stay on Tsunade's good side for the time being. "He's not exactly a normal thirteen year old boy, shishou. In fact, he's practically a fourteen year old boy!"

Tsunade pointed a finger at her youngest apprentice. "Don't get smart with me. What does he like to do?"

Sakura lips quirked up in a smile. "Fight. We already spar nearly every day he's not on a mission or I'm not here too late." Her smile got bigger. "Since I've been training with you too, he's had a much harder time beating me with only taijutsu."

Tsunade hid her own smile behind her sake bowl. "Good. That still doesn't solve your gift problem, though."

"I know!" Sakura also knew she was whining, but it was something she had been mulling over for days with no solution. Shino had been a huge source of support for her before and after Naruto had finally left Konoha for his training with Jiraiya. Sakura felt that she needed a tangible way to convey her gratitude, because everything good that had happened to her since Sasuke's defection was down to his influence.

Even gaining something that resembled a new team or at the very least, a new group of friends. As she suspected, Sakura had not seen Kakashi except in passing since the day they waved her last teammate through the gates. It hurt that he could be so casual about abandoning her, but Kurenai had welcomed her into their team dinners and Sakura wasn't too proud to accept the invitations.

She slumped over the table, defeated by her lack of good ideas.

Shizune patted her on the back comfortingly. "What about a set of new weapons? Every shinobi I've known is always losing theirs on missions or breaking them during training."

"Shino-kun keeps his in impeccable condition even though he barely uses them. That's just how he is." Sakura turned her head to look at her. "Besides, that's such an impersonal thing to get."

"Fine, shoot down my ideas, Sakura-chan. I see how it is." Shizune smiled, belying her words.

Sakura had a sudden thought, not quite formed. "Shizune, you're good with poisons right? Would you be able to help me a put together a collection of interesting ones?"

Tsunade was on her fifth bowl of sake, but she could see where this was going. "You're going to give your friend _poison_ for his birthday? That seems a little morbid, Sakura."

She shrugged. "I think he'll like it. He's been cross-breeding his kikaichu with other species from his clan that are also highly poisonous." Her eyes were bright with interest. "He's one of the only people in his clan who can use them."

The other apprentice looked at Tsunade who nodded. She smiled at Sakura. "This is going to be fun! It's so rare that I get to play with them these days."

Tsunade looked at the both of them sternly, an expression that was not tempered by the flush of alcohol on her face. "You will show Sakura the extraction process for these poisons, Shizune. And Sakura, you will practice until you can do it in your sleep before I let you give them to someone as a _gift_."

"Yes, shishou."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." They spoke together and then grinned at each other excitedly. Tsunade sighed. What was it about her that attracted problem students?

* * *

Sakura cradled her cloth-wrapped gift as she snuck up on Shino where he was waiting for her on their usual training ground. She poked him in the side and he turned around, raising an eyebrow. "Shino-kun! Did I scare you?"

"It takes more than a heavy-footed kunoichi to scare me."

Sakura pouted in annoyance. "I'm as quiet as death!"

Shino tilted his head, considering. "To someone who is hard-of-hearing."

"I'm going to let that pass because it's your birthday, Shino-kun. Because I'm a good person." She smiled at him brightly and held out her present. "Here! Open it! I would have given it to you at dinner tonight with the rest of your team, but I don't know if it's a great idea to open near food."

Shino arched an eyebrow at her and warily took the package from her. His unwrapping process was just as precise as she figured it would be. Sakura wiggled with impatience next to him, excited and nervous to see his reaction. She peered curiously at his face, knowing she would have to look carefully to see his true feelings.

The muted blue cloth was finally drawn away to reveal a hand-carved wooden box with a beetle intricately etched into the top, the glittering metallic dyes shimmering in the sunlight. Sakura had looked through Konoha's market stalls and shops for days, trying to find just the right container for her present before giving up and ordering it specially through a vendor that Tenten had recommended to her. Sakura had endured the older girl's good-natured teasing when she had asked about the recipient and then swore her to secrecy. It had cost nearly all of her last mission pay, but she could always make more money. This was more important.

Shino's face was impassive as he ran his fingers lightly over the design. "Sakura, this is …" He trailed off.

Sakura smiled uncertainly. _Does he like? Does he hate it?_ She looked at the way he held the box as if it were made of glass and felt a little more confident. "That's just storage for what's inside, Shino-kun! But I'm glad you like it."

"There's more?" He held the box up a bit and saw the crease where the top could be removed. He did so carefully and she took it from him so that he could easily see the twelve carefully marked glass bottles inside. "Are these _poisons_?"

Sakura grinned. She had never heard Shino's voice sound so interested. "Yep! Those are twelve of the rarest ones I could get my hands on. Don't worry, I also know how to cure them too, just in case."

Shino's voice was dry. "The kikaichu can draw poison out of my body."

She shrugged. "Better safe than sorry! Besides, shishou wouldn't let me have them unless I knew how to do it anyway." She nudged him as he stared down at the box in wonder. "Do you like them?"

"Yes. Thank you." He looked at her directly, dark glasses obscuring his eyes. "This is already the best birthday I've ever had. I'm tempted to just stay here with these and not go to dinner at all."

Sakura was elated. After weeks of wondering and second-guessing herself, his reaction was exactly what she needed to hear. "Well, we can stay here for a little and I can tell you about them. I will admit that Shizune was a big help."

They sat down where they were standing and Sakura started pulling the bottles out one by one, describing the powders and liquids, what they did and the symptoms they induced. She pointed to one viscous poison that left sticky residue on the side of its container. "This one is from Suna. Tsunade-shishou actually told me about it. It's a relic from the Second Shinobi War and exceedingly painful. I doubt hardly anyone else can create it now."

He picked it up and moved the bottle from side to side. "How did you find it?"

"The three of us reverse engineered it based on her memories from the extraction method." She leaned back on her hands and laughed. "It was a fun! Really, I enjoyed the whole process of making this for you, so thank you." She grinned at him. "You are often the catalyst for something exciting in my life."

He busied himself with replacing the bottles carefully back in the box, but she saw his tiny smile and the pink flush on his high cheekbones. "We should meet the others soon."

Sakura stood up and brushed strands of grass from her skirt. "Already? Time flies when you're having fun with poisons!"

Shino snorted and meticulously wrapped the box back up in the blue cloth that she had used before. It was a nicer and neater job than she had done herself, Sakura noted with fond annoyance. He placed it under his arm and motioned for her to go first.

Sakura stayed where she was and copied him. "After you, birthday boy!" She could see the way he forced himself _not_ to roll his eyes behind his sunglasses, but proceeded to walk anyway. She followed after him, smiling happily. Operation: Shino's Gift had been a success! Now for Operation: Birthday Party to commence. She hoped his team was able to pick up the sweetheart cakes she ordered.

* * *

She and Shino had arrived at the small café to see that his team was already assembled with the sweetheart cakes in front of them, waiting to order their dinner. Kiba was attempting to keep Akamaru from devouring them all, saying "You don't even like melon!"

"Happy birthday, Shino-kun!" Hinata smiled at him kindly as she presented him with a small package. "This is from Kiba-kun and myself."

The boy paused in the scuffle with his dog and grinned wolfishly. "Yeah, we picked it out just for you!"

Shino took the gift from her after setting down his box as far away from the table and food as possible. Sakura rolled her eyes. He didn't want take her up on the offer to stash it at her house for the night, which had been on their way to the café. She knew the poisons were stored well, so she wasn't particularly worried. His teammates gave the cloth-wrapped box a curious look, but didn't comment. He unwrapped Hinata's gift and his mouth quirked up in a small smile. "Thank you, Hinata-san, Kiba. How did you know I needed this particular brand of weapons oil?"

Kiba scoffed and leaned back against the wall behind him casually. "You're not the only one on this team who notices things, Shino." He pushed the plate of cakes toward Shino. "Now eat one of these so I can have one too."

Sakura and Hinata laughed while Shino looked them over carefully before choosing the his favorite looking one. "I must admit I'm surprised you remembered my favorite food too."

Kurenai smiled. "That was all Sakura-chan. She ordered the platter and asked us to bring them with us."

Sakura shrugged, feeling a little embarrassed. "I have a good memory."

Kurenai gave her a knowing look, but just handed Shino his gift from her, a three month voucher to Yakiniku Q. "For all those times Sakura-chan drags you there after training, Shino-kun. You'll have barbecue coming out of your eyes."

"I don't know if I should thank you for this, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata and Kiba laughed while Sakura swatted his arm playfully. "But I will, because it's polite."

The waitress came by, sensing a good opportunity to take their orders. With a little discussion, they decided on several platters to share as a group.

"Oi," Kiba said, pointing at the box Shino had placed away from the table. "What's that? Sakura's present? Open it!"

Shino shook his head. "I opened it before we got here. I shouldn't do it again here. But I can show you the outside." He took off the cloth and somewhat proudly presented the wooden box for their inspection, tilting it slightly so they could see the design. His team looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate. "It's poison."

Kiba stared at him for a long moment and then looked at Sakura wonderingly. "You two are made for each other."

She could feel her cheeks flush, but she didn't want to make a big deal of it. She floundered for a moment for something to say, but Kurenai beat her to it. "That's such a nice, personalized present, Sakura-chan. I just hope Shino-kun doesn't try to use it on any of us!"

"I would never try to poison Hinata-san or you, Kurenai-sensei."

It took a moment. "Hey!" Kiba had realized what Shino said, distracted as he was by the cakes and thoughts of poison as a birthday present. Hinata tried not to laugh and restrained Kiba from swiping across the table at his teammate in annoyance.

Akamaru took this as an opportunity to swipe Kiba's sweetheart cake from his plate and Sakura couldn't help but laugh herself to tears at the ensuing chaos. She could see from Shino's relaxed posture that he was enjoying himself too. Operation: Birthday Party was a success.


	4. Part IV

Sakura tackled Shino in a hug, too excited to worry about the fact that they were just outside the Hokage Tower with their peers milling about. "Congratulations, Shino-kun! I had no doubt you would pass!"

Shino bore her affection as stoically as he ever did, though she saw a brief smile flash on his face. "I did not doubt it either."

Sakura drew back and made a face at him. "Don't be a brat." She cocked a hip and looked at him expectantly. "Well?"

"Yes?"

She huffed at him in fond exasperation. "This is where _you_ congratulate _me_ on passing, Shino-kun!"

"Ah." He stared at her for a moment. "I never doubted that you would either, Sakura."

She could feel her cheeks flush, but she smiled at him happily. "Thank you." She rubbed her hands together deviously. "Now Naruto is the only one who is still a genin. I wonder if I can get Tsunade-shishou to assign him D-Ranks when he gets home …"

While Sakura was deep in her musings about Naruto's upcoming torturous missions with Tora-chan, her makeshift team approached them.

Ino threw her arm around Sakura's shoulders, undeterred by her muttering to herself. "Hey Forehead, let's celebrate!"

"What? Oh, Ino-Pig! Sure." She looked at Choji, who was complacently munching on a bag of chips. "Yakiniku Q, right? You want to come, Shino-kun?"

She grinned when she saw him wince almost imperceptibly at the mentioned of the barbecue restaurant. So _maybe_ she had been slightly too enthusiastic when it came to using the birthday present Kurenai-sensei had given him months ago, but a shinobi should always take advantage of any situation presented to them. Sakura was pretty sure _that_ was in the rulebook.

Shikamaru's sudden approach of their little group halted Shino's no doubt acerbic reply. "Tsunade-sama has requested that you come back to her office now, Sakura." He nodded at Shino. "You too."

Her brow furrowed. "Is everything okay?"

Shikamaru shrugged and rolled his eyes. "She didn't tell me anything, just sent me to fetch." The three of them trooped back inside and waited quietly while Tsunade conferred with Kakashi in hushed tones. Sakura immediately felt awkward, not having seen or spoken to her former sensei in months. She shuffled slightly closer to Shino as the two older shinobi wrapped up their conversation and Kakashi came to stand next to them.

Tsunade looked them over and nodded at Shikamaru. "You can go now. Thank you for retrieving my wayward apprentice."

Sakura struggled to keep her face neutral and grumbled mentally about annoying mentors. She saw Tsunade's eyes shine with mirth and knew she was not entirely successful in being discrete about her irritation.

Tsunade's humor vanished when Shizune coughed pointedly. "Right. Sorry to drag you two back in here, but a time-sensitive mission just landed on my desk and you three are the best fit for such short notice."

 _The three of us? What a strange team this is going to be …_

"There have been a handful of child abductions from a small village east of Konoha. You must track down the perpetrators and find the children." She didn't mention the possibility that they could be recovering bodies instead, but Sakura could read between the lines. _Day one of being a chunin and already_ dead kids?

Now that she knew the mission parameters, Sakura understood the team's makeup a little better. As brand new chunin, they would require a field leader who was skilled at tracking and Shino also had his abilities to supplement Kakashi's ninken. Sakura was being added as support as well as medic for any injuries done to the children. She grimaced, thinking, _Physical injuries, anyway._ Her studies from the Academy and the more advanced ones from Tsunade had shown her, intellectually, the sort of psychological damage being in this line of work could incur.

Tsunade eyed them as they stood silently, waiting for her to continue. "Kakashi is team leader and has the direct mission request, including all relevant information. You are to leave immediately."

She and Shino turned at the same time and he indicated that she should go ahead of him through the doorway. Kakashi followed them silently. She decided to put any hurt feelings aside and work with him like the professional she was. "I need to replenish my medic pack at the hospital before we leave, Kakashi-sensei."

He nodded, but didn't look at her. "Fine. I will meet you two at the gates in fifteen minutes." Before she could reply, he shunshined out of the building, leaving her staring at a pile of leaves. Annoyed, she glanced at Shino, who just shrugged at her.

"This is going to be piles of fun."

* * *

Amazingly, Kakashi _was_ waiting for them when they returned from the hospital in the time allotted for him. She nudged Shino as they drew closer to him and the gates. "I think this is the first time I've ever seen Kakashi-sensei be on time for _anything_."

"Surely that's an exaggeration. You went on many missions with him before … everything happened." Shino was still carefully sensitive about the Sasuke subject, something she appreciated even though it wasn't strictly necessary anymore.

She shook her head. "Nope. Once, we waited for over fours hours just for him to drop by and give us a D-Rank that was peeling vegetables for a catering company working on a huge wedding. The client scolded _us_ for being late!"

He was silent for a moment as they approached Kakashi. "Most high level shinobi tend to have their own level of eccentricity."

She snorted. "Not Kurenai-sensei. She is practically perfect."

"She's too soft on Kiba and Hinata-san."

Sakura was interrupted by Kakashi, who was slouching by the gate doors, Icha Icha in hand. "All packed?" They nodded at him. "Good. Follow me."

He set a relatively slow pace for their travel, something Sakura found to be strange for such a time-sensitive mission. Wouldn't the trail deteriorate the longer they took? She knew that Kakashi was one of the fastest shinobi Konoha had. How else could he fairly compete with Gai-sensei?

After two hours of the torturously slow pacing in complete silence, Sakura felt the need to speak up. She called out to him, a few feet ahead of her. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes? Do you need a break, Sakura-chan?"

 _Ah_. She got it. He was holding them back because of _her_. Or least, what he assumed her limits were, based on his year old knowledge. She was annoyed that he hadn't supposed she had gotten any better under Tsunade's tutelage, but couldn't help a slight tinge of fondness that rose in her chest. Kakashi had, in his awkward way, looked out for her the best he could considering her two powerhouse teammates.

Sakura muffled a laugh and saw Shino look at her in askance. "No, could we speed it up? We'll be old and grey by the time we get to the village at this rate." She stared at the back of his silver head of hair. "Well, grey-er."

There was a quiet, strangled cough on her left and she smiled to herself. Getting Shino to laugh at her terrible jokes was easier and easier these days. Sakura mentally patted herself on the back for being such a good influence on her aloof friend.

"Ah." Kakashi sounded surprised and not offended, thankfully. "Of course. Let me know if either of you need to stop."

Sakura sighed, the smile falling off her face. "This is a mission, not a field trip. We'll move at the pace you set, Kakashi-sensei. Right, Shino-kun?"

"Sakura is correct. If we are to reach the village before nightfall, we'll need to move at least three times as fast for the duration of our travel."

Kakashi stopped on a branch and turned to look at them where they had stopped on the same branch together. He stared at them for a moment and nodded once, sharply. "Fair enough. No takebacks." He gave Sakura an unreadable glance. "You're chunin now, after all."

With that, he continued toward their target village, already out of sight. Shino and Sakura took off after him and she muttered to herself. "Finally!"

They arrived just as the sun was setting and surveyed the small hamlet from their vantage point in the trees. Most people were just starting to leave the fields on the opposite side, clearly done for the day and ready for their dinner. Sakura could see that most of the women who were leave the fields were dragging small children with them in slings or on their backs.

Kakashi signaled them down and they followed him into the small town chaos. He approached a man who jumped when tapped on the shoulder. "Excuse me, where can we find Takeuchi-san? He requested a mission."

The man pointed a shaking hand toward one of the larger houses in the village, made of brick and not crumbling like so many of the others in the area. Kakashi knocked on the door and stood back, waiting.

A large man opened the door and leaned heavily on it. He smelled pungently of liquor. "Yeah? Whaddya want?"

"Takeuchi-san? We're from Konoha. You sent word to the Hokage?"

The man straightened as much as he could and only wavered slightly. "Yeah, thas me. Come in, I'll tell ya all about this nightmare."

Takeuchi backed away a few paces and slumped into a chair, waving them inside grandly. They assembled in front of him quickly and waited. "Three weeks ago my daughter was taken out of her bedroom. No one saw anythin'. I was asleep and didn't hear a goddamn thing. And then a few days go by and the butcher's son is missing! And then Yamamoto's kid was gone and then one every other day. We sent out search parties every time." He took a large gulp of the bottle by his chair and closed his eyes wearily. "Nothin'."

Kakashi eyed the man clinically. "We'll need an item of your daughter's to use for tracking. The most recently used, the better."

The man blinked slowly and then got up again. "Right. Okay."

Sakura stared at his back as he left the room. "Poor man. I didn't realize it had been so long since the abductions started."

Kakashi said, "It was not mentioned in the request. Tsunade-sama was under the impression it had started much more recently."

Shino cut in. "The likelihood of the children being alive after all this time is-" Sakura poked him in the ribs as she heard Takeuchi returning to the main room and he cut himself off, face impassive as ever.

The man thrust a stuffed rabbit at Kakashi's chest. "Here. She sleeps with that every night. It was with her when-" Takeuchi stopped, pained and then took a deep breath. "That night. When she was taken."

Kakashi nodded his head. "We'll get started immediately." At his signal, they turned to leave, Takeuchi still standing in the middle of the room lost in his own thoughts.

In quick succession, they visited each parent and collected stories and items for tracking purposes. Sakura stayed with the last for a few extra moments, offering to help the worried single mother with her other daughter, who was suffering from a terrible hacking cough. She wasn't so far into her training that she could cure colds, but she could at least ease the burden on the poor woman.

She joined her teammates and looked at the jonin curiously. "Kakashi-sensei? Do you have enough ninken to track all of these children individually?"

"No." He slouched next to her. "But they needed to know that we considered all of them important and not just the one who could pay the most."

Sakura looked at him in astonishment. "That is surprisingly considerate of you."

Kakashi looked pained, but he didn't say anything. Sakura immediately regretted her words, but didn't know how to apologize without making it more awkward. Kakashi straightened and performed the seals for summoning, with the entire pack showing. Shino watched the proceedings with interest, having never witnessed an actual summoning before. Akamaru was just always with Kiba, after all.

"Yo."

"Pakkun, we've got some work to do." Instead of handing over the stuffed rabbit like Sakura had thought he would, he grabbed the toy from the most recent abduction. "We need to find her."

The dogs gathered around the toy, a thread-bare soft doll with dark hair and a carefully patched little dress. Pakkun took a deep whiff and then put his nose to the ground, not needing any other instructions. The rest of the pack followed suit and the team followed them back into the woods as they caught the trail.

"Sakura." She slowed and allowed Kakashi to gain a considerable head start on them. She then looked over at Shino who extended a hand to her, one of his kikaichu buzzing toward her. It landed on her bare arm and crawled up to her shoulder, sticking to the edge of her sleeveless shirt. "It's a female."

"Ah." She smiled at him. "Do you think I'm likely to get lost, Shino-kun?"

"I like to prepare for any eventuality."

She snorted but didn't brush off the tiny beetle. "What about Kakashi-sensei?" Over the high collar of his jacket, Sakura could see a muscle in Shino's cheek tense, as if he were grinding his teeth.

"He declined."

She stared at him. "You placed one on him anyway, didn't you?"

Shino inclined his head slightly. "Of course."

Sakura smiled. "Good. We'll protect his back even if he doesn't ask for it. That's the kind of teamwork he taught me."


	5. Part V

They followed the ninken in the same uncomfortable silence, with Kakashi taking point, Sakura in the middle and Shino at the rear. She tried not to be too insulted that she was in the most insulated position, thinking of Tsunade's words. _A medic must stay alive to help others._

Sakura repeated it over and over to herself until she almost believed that she was being supported because she was _useful_ that way, rather than because she would be no help if it came down to a confrontation.

The pack was leading them further and further north, closer to the border of Oto than she wanted to contemplate. When Pakkun stopped and scented the air, veering sharply east, Sakura couldn't contain her sigh of relief. While she was in no hurry to possibly encounter Orochimaru again, she was more concerned with being faced with Sasuke. _I'm not ready. I may never be ready, but more time will be nice._

Kakashi somehow heard her sigh and looked back in concern, but she could only give him a sheepish shrug. He said nothing, his attention already back on the dogs in front of him. Sakura stared at he back of his head as they continued to move quickly through the trees. She knew how _she_ felt about Sasuke's betrayal, but did anyone ever ask her sensei? Sakura thought about the aftermath of the failed retrieval mission. Did Kakashi have anyone to be there for him like Shino had been for her? She knew Sasuke had been his star student and thought that maybe he saw something of himself in her teammate.

She wracked her brains, trying to think of anyone she had seen Kakashi with outside of their team. Gai-sensei? Sakura made a note to herself to track down the exuberant jonin and ask, though it would almost certainly be awkward and embarrassing and probably end in tears. His, most likely. Maybe she could drag Shino along with her as Lee-repellant.

Sakura was barely paying attention to her surroundings, lost in her own thoughts. The kikaichu on her shirt buzzed, startling her back into the present. Kakashi and Pakkun had stopped up ahead; if she hadn't been drawn out of her worries, she would have kept going right past them.

She landed on a brand close to Kakashi and gave Shino a sideways smile when he came to stop next to her, grateful for his subtle interference. Flying past the team leader without a second glance was certainly not the way to get Kakashi-sensei to notice her new skills.

Pakkun stared at them all for a moment before he said, "There's a residence up ahead that the trail leads to. Seems abandoned. Smells like genjutsu."

Kakashi nodded. "We'll proceed with caution and assume that it's not as empty as looks." He looked at them. "Shino, you will watch the back of the building while I approach the front. Sakura, watch the western side and the pack will be on the eastern wall." At their nods, he turned. "Move out."

 _I get the least likely avenue for confrontation. Don't take it as an insult, Sakura. It isn't the time for pettiness._

Sakura settled into her position, observing the side of the building carefully. It had no windows to speak of, but she could see what Pakkun meant about "smells like genjutsu". There was definitely something glossed over the crumbling brick. She wavered about dispelling it and decided against it, knowing Shino was nearly invulnerable to it and Kakashi was well able to see through such things himself. If he wanted to approach with the jutsu still active, she would trust his judgment.

Kakashi left his position and reached the door within seconds, listening carefully and then Sakura could see him signaling to her, asking her to dispel the genjutsu. After a moment of confused hesitation, she did. "Kai!"

The shimmer that she had noticed around the dilapidated brick was gone, but otherwise the building looked exactly the same. What she could see of Kakashi looked oddly resigned and he signaled the all-clear. She formed one hand seal and whistled, informing Shino of the same. Kakashi gave her a strange look as she approached, choosing to break his self-imposed silence. "What was that?"

"What?" Sakura worried she had done something wrong, somehow. All she did was wait and get rid of a pretty useless genjutsu! Surely she hadn't managed to screw that up …

"The whistle." Shino appeared around the side of the house, followed by the ninken.

"Oh, you said it was all clear, so I told Shino-kun." She frowned slightly. "Is that okay? I should have asked if you wanted him to stay to guard the other exit. I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei."

"It's fine. There's no one here." He looked between them curiously. "That's not a standard signal."

She smiled and motioned to the beetle on clinging nonchalantly to her shoulder. "It only works with Shino-kun, since the message is sent through his connection to the kikaichu."

"Ah." Kakashi looked at Shino. "A clan jutsu?"

"No." Shino was looking as unruffled as ever. "Sakura is very innovative. We developed this system together." He looked in her direction and smirked a tiny bit. "Though I was little more than a guinea pig."

Sakura huffed at him. "You agreed, Shino-kun! You can't complain about it months later!"

Kakashi was gave her an unreadable look, but didn't comment. He opened the door to the building and Pakkun preceded him in. Sakura and Shino followed him in, her good humor fading when she remembered exactly _what_ their mission was. It had been easier not to think of it.

The inside had been clearly used, but barely cleaned. It was mostly one large open room with cots scattered up against the two walls and a bucket in the far corner. Kakashi unsealed the rest of the items he had taken from the parents and held them out to Pakkun. "Tell me if these children have also been here."

Pakkun sniffed around the room while the team searched it for anything more tangible that would give them an idea of the children's location. Sakura found patched blue nightdress stuffed under one of the cots, very similar to the little dress on the doll that had belonged to Mitsu, the most recently kidnapped child. She sat down quickly, horrified by the implications.

"Sakura? Are you okay?" She could hear an unusual tone of concern in Shino's voice.

She took a deep breath. "I found a dress. I think it might be Mitsu's." He and Kakashi drew closer to look. "I … she was taken out of bed, Kakashi-sensei. They wouldn't have brought her extra clothes."

Kakashi met her eyes reluctantly and his shoulders were tense. "You're right."

She sighed heavily. "These poor kids. I can't imagine how scared they must be. These people are monsters." Sakura gently ran her hands over the cloth. "I hope I get to punch them all in the balls."

Shino smirked slightly and said, "That would certainly be an effective way to take out the kidnappers."

Kakashi's visible eye widened and she could see that he had expected tears instead of highly inappropriate gallows humor. Just as she had gotten Shino to lighten up, he had influenced her with his dry and somewhat black sense of humor, something he had not shared with most of his peers.

Kakashi was clearly tempted to question them about more personal matters, but Pakkun had trotted to him and was standing at his feet waiting. "Hey, boss."

He squatted down to the dog's level. "Report."

"All those kids were here, including the first one. Seems like different times, though. That one-" he nodded his oversized head at the stuffed rabbit Takeuchi had given them, "The scent is pretty old. Maybe three weeks."

Sakura murmured. "That fits."

Shino nodded next to her. "Especially if they are only using this building as a short-term way point." He looked around, sunglasses obscuring his direct gaze. "It begs the question what, exactly, they are doing with the children."

Kakashi cut him off. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We should work only with the information we have." He sighed. "Which is very little. The genjutsu that was on this house was annoyingly specific."

Sakura was concerned at how defeated he sounded. "What do you mean?"

"I wanted to observe the chakra patterns on it before we touched it and also as it was deteriorating. That's why I had you dispel it instead."

Warily, she said, "And?"

"Its primary cause was misdirection. It entirely scrambles the path that anyone takes once they leave here." Kakashi grimaced. "Even scent tracks. If I sent the pack out, we would be drawn in multiple directions, none of them correct."

She raised her eyebrow. "Shino-kun? Do you think …" she trailed off, hoping he would understand her vague idea, though she wasn't entirely sure how it would be put into action.

"You know my kikaichu are not susceptible to genjutsu, but without having placed a tracker on the target my range is regrettably limited."

Kakashi eyed him with interest, rubbing his chin. "How limited?"

He shrugged casually, something she was sure he had never done much of before she had barreled into his life. "Approximately twenty-five miles."

Sakura tried not to roll her eyes, given the serious circumstances, but it was a near thing. "Yes, very limited. You're barely a shinobi, with those skills."

Kakashi straightened, giving Pakkun a look and the dog disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "If you can get us headed in the right direction outside of all this-" he waved at the general contents of the house, "Then the pack may be able to pick up the correct trail afterward." He rubbed his temples and sighed. "This is more frustrating that Tsunade-sama led us to believe."

Sakura felt the need to defend her mentor. "This is more frustrating that Tsunade-shishou was

led to believe, Kakashi-sensei. I don't think the mission request was entirely accurate."

Kakashi looked at her and said wryly, "Not the first time that's happened to us, Sakura-chan."

She snorted, able to remember the mission to Wave now as almost a fond memory, instead of the terrifying nightmare it had been when she had first gotten back to Konoha. She glanced at Shino with a smile. That had truly been the impetus that really brought them together as friends. "If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. Team 7's unofficial motto."

Kakashi's tense shoulders told her that she had misstepped again. Sakura despaired at her inability to reach across the gulf that separated them. He was the only part of her team that she had left and it frustrated her that he was blowing so hot and cold. Kakashi had almost sounded teasing for a quick moment and she had responded in kind without thinking.

Shino came to her rescue, just as he had when they abandoned her the first time. "Should I prepare myself for missing-nin appearing out of puddles?"

She laughed and stood up from the cot, tucking the small dress away in her pack, pushing the anxiety out of her mind. "A shinobi must be prepared for anything, Shino-kun, so … yes, obviously." She looked at Kakashi. "Should we go?"

The older man sighed and waved them on toward the door. "Shino will take point with his kikaichu."

"It would be best for us to remain here while I scout, unless the trail is outside my radius. Doing so while moving can interfere."

Shino set nearly his entire colony lose in every conceivable direction and Sakura could see him expand his awareness out to them, though it looked like just a tense jaw to anyone who didn't know him. As always, she was impressed by his control, even if it did mean that he was able to dodge or otherwise neutralize her powerful blows half the time they sparred. She smirked. _My speed is getting better, soon he'll have more of a fight than he can handle._

Kakashi was shooting her that unreadable look again. She inched closer, not wanting to disturb Shino's concentration, and whispered to him, "What?"

He hesitated and she raised an eyebrow at him, looking more like Tsunade than she realized. "I did not know you were on such good terms with the Aburame, Sakura-chan."

"Oh. Mostly it's just Shino-kun. We _were_ in the academy together. I've only met his parents in passing. The rest of the clan is pretty reclusive, as well you know."

"Right." He glanced at Shino, who paid them no mind whatsoever. "But you're not like this with your other Academy peers."

 _Like what?_ Did he think she was being unprofessional with a teammate during a mission? She sighed and realized that it wasn't like she had the best track record, considering how infatuated she was with Sasuke during all their missions together. Kakashi was clearly remembering those cringe-worthy moments.

"Shino-kun is my friend, Kakashi-sensei." She rubbed her eyes tiredly. _To hell with it_. This wasn't a political situation, maybe bluntness would work best. "I promise that this mission won't be compromised by my behavior. Or my lack of skill."

He was silent for a moment and Sakura could hear the quiet buzzing of the kikaichu on her shoulder. Idly, she wondered where Shino had hidden the one on her former sensei. She could see that Kakashi was mulling something over, but before he could put his thoughts into words, Shino spoke.

"I believe I have found a trace. We go north, close to the border between Fire and Hot Water."

She narrowed her eyes. "Hot Springs is known for being a peaceful village. That's an odd location for taking kidnapped children for … whatever they're planning." She winced, trying not to think of the most obvious reasons.

Kakashi tipped his head back to look at the dying light of the sunset through the trees. "Not all countries follow their hidden villages, Sakura-chan. There are monsters everywhere."

She frowned, unhappy with his words but unable to refute them. He motioned to Shino brusquely. "Lead us to the trail." With a nod, they were off through the trees, Sakura in the middle once again.

They stopped and started many times, following an ever weakening trail while it began to rain lightly. Sakura could see that constant use of his kikaichu was wearing on Shino, though he said nothing. _Not that he ever would. Just like all the other boys in my life._ She eyed Kakashi. _Including this one._

She wondered if she was going to have to demand they rest for her own sake, if only to save face for her friend.

"Hold." Kakashi called from behind her and she skidded to a stop on a wet branch, her chakra control saving her from falling on her face. Sakura grimaced at her poor reflexes and wondered if maybe she _should_ ask a break for herself. She looked over her shoulder and Kakashi said, "We're stopping for the night."

Her eyes widened. "The whole night? That seems … unwise, Kakashi-sensei."

Shino had backtracked to them and landed quietly on the branch next to her, not skidding as she had, Sakura noted sourly. _Save me from overly graceful boys, seriously._ Sasuke had been the same way. She could see him nod in the moonlight. "I agree with Sakura. We should continue."

Her former teacher looked at them and sighed. "I'm going to summon Pakkun. If he can pick up the trail from where we are now, we rest for a few hours." He held up a hand to forestall any protests and she could see that he was smiling a little behind his mask. "You won't be able to punch anyone in the balls if you're too tired to see straight, Sakura-chan."

Shino snorted in amusement next to her. She stuck her tongue out at Kakashi, happy to see that he was in a friendlier mood.

Shino watched the summoning with interest once more and leaned over to speak to Sakura in low tones. "Will he be able to scent anything in all this rain?"

Sakura dropped down to sit on the branch and tugged him with her, making him slip slightly before he settled. She grinned at his pink cheeks, crowing victoriously in her head. "Yeah, Pakkun has the best nose out of all the ninken, which is actually really weird. Most pugs have breathing problems."

"Ninken are not quite like regular dogs, Sakura."

She sniffed disdainfully. "I would hope that you think better of my intelligence than to point out the obvious needlessly."

"Just making sure you are not growing dull. I know it's been some time since you were on a mission."

Sakura reached over and flicked him the forehead, hard. He didn't squawk like Naruto always did, but the fact that he reached up to rub at it was enough for her ego. "You're lucky you're so cute, Shino-kun, or otherwise I wouldn't put up with your insults."

She could feel her face flush against the cool darkness of the night. She had always been obvious with her romantic feelings, but it was almost more nerve-wracking when she knew that they might actually be returned.

Shino surprised her by stiffly placing his hand over hers where it lay on the branch between them. "I suppose I'm lucky you do." She smiled in the dark, feeling happy despite their gruesome task.

Kakashi called out to them. "Hey, lovebirds! We're making camp here."

Sakura rolled her eyes and squeezed Shino's hand affectionately. She stood and stretched, dropping to the forest floor with barely a whisper. "See if I make you any food, Kakashi-sensei."

She heard him huff in amusement behind her and felt that maybe, _maybe_ things would be okay between them.


End file.
